MEDWAY - David Stoltzfus clambered down the skeletal walls from the roof of the horse barn his family’s construction company is building for Saddle Rowe Horse Farm, passing up the ladder and not once losing his straw hat.

"It's fun to see what you can make out of it, to get creative," he said when he reached the ground.

Stoltzfus is Amish, like all the employees of Archery Construction, a company based out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that exclusively builds barns for horse farms.

The Saddle Rowe barn’s 250-foot long, 85-foot wide frame stood tall on Friday but completely bare, save for the 11-member crew deftly walking across the 2 by 4s framing the roof. They were clad in suspenders, cotton clothes, straw hats, and no apparent safety equipment preventing a fall into the mud 15 to 20 feet bellow.

They spoke quietly to each other in Pennsylvania Dutch, a German dialect.

Nearly everyone on the crew used power nail guns hooked up to a generator. One drove a tractor that brought planks from storage to the workers.

"The generators we don't use at home, but you can't do the job without them. It would take too long," Stoltzfus said.

Archery Construction has a phone number and a website. Workers use power tools and heavy machinery. But, Stolzfus said, they bring none of that back home.

The company has been in business for 10 years, when Stolzfus’ brother Benuel started it.

"They came highly recommended to us," said Joseph Lombard, the original owner of Saddle Rowe. A veterinarian friend who had a horse barn built by Archery in Rehoboth put in the word.

Saddle Rowe will use the massive structure as an indoor riding stadium for the winter and inclement weather. They’re constructing it because in February their old barn collapsed under the weight of ice and snow, said Tina Geoghegan, Lombard’s daughter.

Since its founding in 1970, Saddle Rowe has been family owned and operated. The 17-acre horse farm is now home to anywhere from 40 to 55 horses.

Lombard said he was pleasantly surprised by the Amish work ethic exhibited by Archery Construction.

"They’re not union men, I can tell you that," he said.

He said that the day before, the men had started at 7:15 a.m. laying support beams across the foundation of the roof. By 6 p.m. the same day, every support beam was in place.

Stoltzfus said he predicts the current barn will take them roughly six weeks. After that, they go to Connecticut to build another.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-634-7582 or at wshaner@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on twitter @BShaner_MDN.